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I’ve been selfish. I took something from each of them because it’s what I wanted—what I needed—to make me feel the tiniest bit better about what my life has become.
I swallowed the vows they swore to uphold and buried them with the demons inside me. I’ve destroyed their honor, loyalty, and duty without a thought of what that would be like for them.
I’ll never be able to keep them. Based on the way King Naveen had stared them down, he’s already planning on keeping me from them. Even if we ran away together, what would a future look like on the run? We’d never be able to return to IronHaven. They’d lose their friends, their family, uproot their whole lives, and for what? Me? I’m not worth that. They deserve so much better than someone so selfish with their lives.
I blink away the tears and run out of the room and down the hall, bolting into the closest empty room and slamming the door behind me.
With my back pressed to the wall, I fall to the floor, letting my guilt and sadness consume me.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Callum
I can see the fear and regret floating in her eyes, then Robyn turns from me, sprinting out of the room.
The three of us take off after her. I catch a glimpse of her darting behind a door.
Hovering my hand over the handle, I turn to them. “I got this,” I say. They nod, standing guard as I enter the room.
My heart drops when I find her. She’s fallen to the ground, sobbing.
Fuck.
I hate seeing her upset, but it’s worse when she cries. We’ve been unable to guard her heart in the same way we fight to protect her physically, and I feel like we’ve let her down.
My fists clench at my sides.Why can’t they just back the fuck off? And why was Cyra being such a bitch to her when she knows how hard today is for her?
I sink to the floor, pulling her into my arms and wishing I could take every ounce of her pain away.
I’ve watched her grow from a scared young girl to a fierce and brave woman over the last few years, but now I have to stand by while her brother unravels her progress, and it’s heartbreaking. I want to put his head on a pike for making their father’s death more painful than it needs to be.
“It’s okay, sunshine. I’ve got you. Just let it out,” I say as she nuzzles her tear-streaked face into my chest. Having her in my arms is dangerous for a man like me. I was born here in IronHaven and was trained for this position from the moment I could hold a sword. My entire life has been in servitude to the crown, and one faltering step could see me hanged, drawn, and quartered. I know I shouldn’t hold her this way, it goes against everything I’ve sworn to uphold. But the harder I try to fight this feeling dwelling inside me, the more it pulls me to the warmth of her soul. If my father was still alive, he’d be so ashamed to see me now.
I take a deep breath, and her lavender scent fills my system. Holding her closer, I start to rub circles on her back. “I don’tdeserve your kindness, Cal.” She wipes her tears away, then drops her hand, wrapping it around me. She squeezes me tight, holding onto me like I’m her last hope. “But I’m selfish, so I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever I can get, no matter how wrong it may be,” she sobs.
My heart beats faster when her voice cracks. My fingers fall to her chin, tilting it up so I can look into her eyes, and hopefully my words will resonate.
“Don’t give them your tears, Princess. They don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, let alone make you feel bad about who you are. You are so much more than they could ever hope to be.”
She blinks back the tears pooling in her eyes, and the sadness I find staring back at me makes me want to hunt down the people who made her feel this way and bleed them dry. “You love fiercely, even the twit of a brother who has never deserved an inkling of your kindness. You think we don’t see it, but we do. The hope swimming in your eyes with every interaction you have with him. Hope that today’s the day he’ll be better, that he might love you the same way you love him.He’sthe one who doesn’t deserve it.”
She swallows hard, absorbing my words, and finally she nods.
Everyone around her has convinced her she’s unworthy of being loved, that she only serves one purpose, but she’s so much more than that. King Rian saw it. The fire in her eyes, the warrior princess fighting for her own place in this world. I saw the light inside her the moment we met, and I have no doubt the guys saw it too.
Robyn’s special in a way that’s indescribable and makes zero sense. Her tears make me want to burn the world down if it would put a smile back on those perfect lips of hers.
“Cal,” she whispers, clutching my shirt in her grasp. “I don’t think I can survive marrying that man.”
My back steels and thoughts of all the ways I can murder him in his sleep float through my mind.
“I don’t think I can survive it without you guys by my side.” A shiver runs down her spine.
“You won’teverhave to worry about that, sunshine.”
“But how?” she asks softly. “I saw the way King Naveen looked at you all. He’s never going to let you come with me.”
